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Less than 20% of the announced urban mobility projects in Brazil have their work under way or have been concluded. The low volume is said to highlight the difficulty of the public sector providing rapid responses to the country's infrastructure needs. The latest report on the PAC 2 accelerated growth programme shows that just 47 of the 229 projects with federal investment have some work in progress, with only seven of the projects having been inaugurated, with the rest still in tender phases or having feas

TRL provided a rapid response when asked for help as part of the investigation of the recent appearance of a Dene Hole in the central reservation of the M2 in Kent, southeast England. Within a few hours of being asked for assistance, TRL was able to mobilise a team to be onsite to provide two coring rigs and staff to undertake investigations of the carriageway in one lane either side of the hole, between junctions 5 near Sittingbourne and 6, near Faversham, to establish its integrity. The carriageway is co

The Netherlands’ transport sector is expected to see thousands of empty positions as the ageing of the population causes a large number of retirements, according to the Dutch benefits issuing agency UWV. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 5,000 until 2018, but an additional 36,000 positions will become free each year from 2015 onwards which is 11,000 more per year than the levels of 2013. The increases are expected to be biggest when the national retail and construction industries improve i

The Indian government has announced an 18% cut in transport sector spending in the 2014/2015 fiscal year. However, the government will allocate a higher proportion of the sector’s budget to complete transport projects in India’s north eastern states. Meanwhile, vehicle producers are giving discounts to boost India sales due to oversupply in the sector.

Work has begun on the Tan Vu-Lach Huyen Bridge located in Hai Phong, a northern port city of Vietnam. The 5.4km long and 16m wide bridge is expected to be completed by early-2017. The structure’s total construction cost combined with the cost of a 10km road leading to it will be US$562.28 million (VND 11.85 trillion).

A new €1.2 billion, 125km road is earmarked for the Meseta (inner plateau) area of Spain. The new A-76 highway will run between Ourense, Monforte and Ponferrada. Those behind the project say it will not affect protected geographic areas. The new highway will join the recently opened Autovia del Cantabrico (A-8) which took ten years to complete.

The health benefits to society from cycling outweigh negative impacts by up to a factor of 20, according to the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) latest research report ‘Cycling, Health and Safety’. The report, published at a time when many cities are seeking to increase the share of cycling amidst concerns for safety, shows that the key to delivering overall benefits from cycling is creating a safe system through government policy and

It is not clear if the team who installed this parking ticket machine were under the influence of alcohol at the time or simply leaning to one side to admire their handiwork

The first smart motorway scheme in the UK’s south-west has been officially launched, covering 11km of motorway around the Almondsbury interchange and including junctions 19-20 on the M4 and junctions 15-17 on the M5. It is designed to help reduce congestion and improve safety and journey times by introducing variable speed limits and opening the hard shoulder during busy traffic periods. The improvements to the M4 and M5 use a range of technologies and operational systems to reduce congestion and smooth t

Paraguay's public works and communications ministry (MOPC) was this week due to launch tenders for five of its biggest infrastructure projects. Among the projects is the rehabilitation of 73km of the Villeta-Alberdi highway, which will require an investment of US$46 million with financing coming from Latin American development bank CAF. CAF will also provide financing for the $38 million rehabilitation of the Estigarribai-Infante Rivarola route, which will help connect Paraguay in order to have access to

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has selected Louis Berger (LB) to serve as safety audit consultant for four national highway construction projects in the eastern state of Bihar. A globally-recognised provider of engineering, development and management support services for public and private clients, LB will perform safety audits during the three-year construction and widening of 366kms of roadway on four national highways. The project team, led by road safety expert Brindabon Samanta, will